Price is per rider, ages 2 and up. Only ticketed
passengers will have seats reserved.
Children under age 2 must ride on a adult's lap, or must have
their own ticket.

Deluxe class service consists of tabled seating in our luxurious restored
Illinois Central dining car.
Pictures and additional details about our Deluxe Class service are
available
on a separate page.

I want to try deluxe service, but my group is only three people.
Can I buy three tickets for Deluxe Class?

Sorry, but Deluxe Class service is sold as tabled seating, and
is sold in units consisting of tables that seat four.
There is no discount for tables occupied by fewer than four people.

I want to ride in Deluxe Class, but my group is five people.
Can I bring a folding chair to add to our table for our extra person?

Sorry, but the configuration of the dining car and the entertainment
provided in the aisle of the car do not allow space for passengers
in addition to the four seats provided at each table.

What do I get extra for the premium price charged for Deluxe Class?

Deluxe class riders get to enjoy their Polar Express™ experience in style
by riding in the luxurious and elegant atmosphere of our beautiful and
painstakingly-restored Illinois Central dining car.

All Deluxe Class passengers are seated at their own table, and each
ticketed passenger will receive a commemorative cocoa mug.
We also have bottles of water, juice boxes, and soda pop, as well as
candy snacks.
A premium type cookie may also be offered in Deluxe Class only, along
with hot chocolate served during the show.

Is there a minimum age for Deluxe Class service?

There is no minimum age for Deluxe Class service.
However, we don't want any of our guests to have their deluxe experience
spoiled by an unruly child.
We know that children can be unpredictable, but we ask parents to
consider whether their children are a "good fit" for premium price
deluxe setting. If your children can be on their best behavior in
a fancy restaurant, we'd love to have them!

Will I get to meet the conductor of the train?

Yes! The train's conductor will call "All Aboard" when the
train is ready to leave the station, and he will punch your
train ticket during the trip.

Will my child get to meet Santa personally?

Yes. Santa will board the train at the North Pole and give a
sleigh bell to each child during the return trip.

If I haven't read the book or seen the movie, will I still
have a good time?

Yes, you can read along or just listen as we read the
storybook on our train ride to the North Pole. If you have
read the book or seen the movie you will feel like you've
just stepped off the pages as we recreate the story with
your child as a part of the cast.

Yes, it's true, much to our amazement. During the past several years,
tickets have effectively sold out in under 10 minutes, in spite of
the Museum adding more trains and capacity every year.

What do I need to do to guarantee that I get tickets?

The Polar Express™ at the Monticello Railway Museum is a
highly popular event. Though each season's trains offer several
thousand seats, we find that there may be eight or more would-be
customers vying for each seat on the train.

As a result, there is no way to guarantee that any given
would-be customer will succeed in buying tickets.
We're elated that our event is so popular, but we're sorry that
we don't have the volunteer staff to satisfy the desires of
everyone who would like to ride our holiday trains.

OK, I understand that. What can I do to improve my chances of
obtaining tickets?

First, be ready at the moment tickets go on sale. A delay of even
a few minutes may impact your chances of success.

Be sure your Internet connection is up and running well before them
moment that tickets go on sale.

Have your credit or debit card ready, and be sure its available
balance is sufficient to cover your order.

Plan out your preferred date and time (as well as one or two backup
train dates/times) and number of tickets ahead of time, and
have them ready before ticket sales start.
This way, you're not wasting precious minutes choosing, while other
buyers are a step ahead of you and are completing their orders.

Good luck!

I didn't get tickets! My children are going to be tremendously upset.
What am I going to tell them?

We're sorry, but not all the families who want to attend
The Polar Express™ will be able to get tickets to our event.

Some of our guests choose not to tell their children until after
they have tickets in hand. This way, the children of unsuccessful
buyers aren't upset. And in the happy event you do succeed
in buying tickets, you can offer your children a pre-holiday surprise of
tickets to our Polar Express™ event.

Last year, I had trouble with the ticket order website, and was
unable to complete my order as a result. What are you doing to
prevent this from happening again?

We have beefed up the Museum's own website to have sufficient capacity
and throughput to handle the traffic during the peak period when
tickets go on sale.
But there are a lot of other players involved, including the ticket
site and credit card processing sites used by the Museum.

These websites are run by third-party Internet companies, and though
these third-party websites are designed for heavy traffic, the Museum
has no control over them. Any issues like maintenance or
technical problems (like network connectivity) are outside the Museum's
control or knowledge.

Furthermore, the Internet is a complicated web
of connections involving thousands of components. Any one of the
components between your computer and your destination can have a
problem at any given time, unknown to any of us, and is outside your
control or ours.

This is a long-winded way of saying that "things happen." We're truly
sorry if technical difficulties prevent you from buying tickets, but
they're essentially random events that are largely out of our hands.

Do you keep a wait list for sold out trains?

Sorry, we do not keep a wait list.

OK, my family missed out this time. When do tickets go on sale for
next year?

We generally put tickets on sale during the summer months.
We choose to put tickets to The Polar Express™ on sale
during daylight hours on a weekend.

I have tickets to The Polar Express™ that I don't need,
and I know there are others who want to ride.
Am I allowed to re-sell my tickets to this event?

The Illinois Ticket Sale and Resale Act prohibits resale of tickets
to our events at a price greater than the face value set by the Museum.
Violation is a criminal offense punishable by a fine of up to $5,000
and one year in jail for each ticket sold in violation
of the law.

The Museum reserves the right to revoke all tickets purchased by a
reseller, and such tickets will not be honored by the Museum.
Furthermore, the Museum will report any illegal resale of tickets for
Museum events to the States Attorney and Attorney General for
criminal prosecution.

Whoa; I'm not trying to make a profit, but I bought Polar Express™
tickets I now can't use. Can I get my money back and make the tickets
I don't need available to someone else?

The Museum's standard
ticket policy
does not offer refunds for tickets within seven (7) days of the event,
or for tickets purchased more than 90 days in the past.

However, due to the popularity of this event, we know that we have
potential buyers for any unwanted tickets. Therefore, we are happy
to waive the no-refund policy, subject to a 10% processing fee
deducted from the refund.

A friend of a friend is selling tickets to your Polar Express™
event. They're being sold at face value, which you told me is legal.
But how do I know that the tickets are legitimate?

First, be wary of anyone selling actual tickets to our event, since
we do not distribute tickets until the day of the train.

Our ticket policy states that the Museum accepts no responsibility
for the validity for tickets obtained from sources other than
the Museum's ticket office or website.

However, we can accommodate transfers of tickets, provided the sale
price is no more than face value.
Have the seller contact
the Museum ticket office
in order to legally convey his or her unneeded tickets to you.
By working through the Museum, you are guaranteed that the tickets
you pay for are legitimate.

After I've Purchased My Tickets

The order page told me that I completed my ticket purchase, but I
never received a confirmation email. Can you help?

One common cause of a missed confirmation email is a typo in the
email address provided to our ticketing system. If you contact
us by email, we can confirm whether you do in fact have tickets.
We'll then check the email address attached to your order and
correct it if necessary, before re-sending that email to you.

When do you mail out tickets?

We don't mail out tickets. Ticket holders pick up their tickets
at our Wabash Depot (the trains' boarding location)
on the day of the event.
For details, see below.

It's been a few months since I ordered tickets, and I forgot what
train date and time I purchased. How can I confirm my dates?

If you have the confirmation email sent by our ticket processor, it will
show the day/time of your magical train ride. If you don't have the
email, but do have the order number, please send it to us
via email, and we'll
re-send the confirmation email with the time and date of your train ride.

Are there hotels in Monticello?

There are two hotels in Monticello:

The Best Western Monticello Gateway Inn
is located at the Market Street / IL 105 exit
(exit 166) on Interstate 72, 2.2 miles north of the
Wabash Depot.
Contact the Best Western via the chain’s website at
www.bestwestern.com,
or directly to the Gateway Inn by calling 217-762-9436.

The Foster Inn
is a family-owned motel located 1.3 miles north of the
Wabash Depot.
The Foster Inn can be reached via their website at
www.fosterinn.com, or
by calling 217-762-9835.

On the Day of the Event

Why should my children dress in their pajamas?

In the story, all the children taking this magical train ride
are awakened from their beds on Christmas Eve. Join the fun
by bringing your children in their pajamas too. Adults are
also welcome to join the PJ party fun.

Where do I board the train?

All Polar Express™ trips board at the Museum's Wabash Depot
in downtown Monticello. The depot is located at
200 E. Livingston, Monticello, IL.

Where are my tickets?

Your tickets will be ready for pickup at the depot in downtown
Monticello at 4 PM the day of your train.
Please arrive at least 30 minutes before your departure to
ensure time to pick up tickets and board the train.
All seats on the train are assigned.

Will there be other things to do at the train station?

Yes! At the VFW Hall, located across the parking lot from the Wabash
Depot, you will find children's games and activities, snacks and soft
drinks available for purchase at Mrs. Claus' Kitchen, and holiday
gift ideas at Santa's Gift Shop.

What is the inclement weather policy?

If you are unable to attend because the Illinois State Police
close the highways due to weather conditions, we will issue refunds.
Otherwise, the trains will run.